Delicious novel: motherhood, the American Dream, Chinese immigration. Bonus points for San Francisco setting, food cart entrepreneurs, female friendship, nuanced characters. A relevant read for these times, penned by a "San Francisco Chronicle" columnist who certainly knows her beat.

Scarlett Chen, pregnant mistress of her employer, Boss Yeung, travels to California to a hotel-like birthing center—Perfume Bay—run by Mama Fang. The idea is that birth-tourism babies automatically achieve American citizenship, assuring their glittery future. Hua’s debut novel delivers suspenseful plot twists and fabulous cultural details.

Because she discovers that her unborn child is a daughter, not a son, Scarlett flees Perfume Bay, disrupting Boss Yeung’s plans for an American-born son to inherit his business dynasty. Scarlett and impulsive, teenaged Daisy escape into a future that’s defined only by their gumption in the land of infinite opportunity. They navigate San Francisco Chinatown’s alleyways where they survive by scavenging. They find safe haven in a crumbling transient apartment known as “Evergreen Gardens”. They give birth thanks to public health. As new mothers, they’re emotionally supported by a cast of “busybody grannies” and “aunties” and the indomitable, grandfatherly Od Wu.

Scarlet names her daughter Liberty Chen. “Liberty. A name Scarlett had picked because of its meaning and its chiming syllables, bright as bells. She couldn’t predict or control what her daughter inherited from her and from Boss Yeung, but she could teach her to define the world by its possibilities and not its limitations, something she hadn’t learned until she left home.”

All the while, Boss Yeung is desperate to find Scarlett and his infant. Many plot twists and a few coincidences round out this story.

A delightful mix of Chinese tradition with California "reinvent-yourself" dreaming thrums through the pages. “When her daughter cried without end, Scarlett strapped her onto her chest and walked ceaselessly, like a soldier on Chairman Mao’s Long March.” Book groups and fans of novels that push the definition of “family” like Kaui Hart Hemmings’ HOW TO PARTY WITH AN INFANT, Lydia Kiesling’s THE GOLDEN STATE, or Brit Bennett’s THE MOTHERS will savor A RIVER OF STARS.

This was just ok for me. The first two thirds of the story focuses on how hard the characters lives are and how much they struggle. Then in the last third, everything does a 180 and everyone lives happily ever after. It felt forced. It felt odd. I didn't dislike this book but I didn't enjoy it either.

In her debut novel, author Vanessa Hua has crafted a well-paced, compelling American Dream story about love, motherhood, friendship, immigration, and aspiration. The book's title alludes to the Chinese folktale, "The Weaver and the Cowherd" [牛郎織女], about two separated lovers who are able to reunite, though temporarily, once a year, through a celestial bridge. The stories of the two main women characters are modern avatars of the traditional tale of forbidden love. Scarlett Chen, a Chinese factory worker, becomes pregnant with the child of her married employer, Boss Yeung. In order to obtain American citizenship for their unborn son, Yeung sends Scarlett to Perfume Bay, an upscale compound for wealthy Chinese mothers-to be, in the United States. However, an unexpected turn of events spurs Scarlett and her friend, Daisy, a teenager pregnant out of wedlock, to flee to San Francisco's Chinatown. There, the two friends live an underground existence while attempting to create a new, better existence for themselves and their children. Entrepreneurial Scarlett aims to start a food-cart business, while Daisy cares for the children and, ever the romantic, seeks out the father of her baby, who has mysteriously disappeared.

River of Stars tells the story of Scarlett, a Chinese immigrant, barely legal, trying to find a crack in the wall that is American citizenship for herself and her newborn baby. It is a realistic, gritty description of the ways in which immigrants are exploited by their own countrymen, fearful of the law, and willing to work at any job that will allow them to scrape together enough money to stay and make a life for their families.

Scarlett and her daughter learn the lesson that a family is the people you choose to love, in whatever form that love takes. Vanessa Hua has written a lovely story whose characters will live in my memory.

Vanessa Hua’s debut novel, River of Stars, gives an eye-opening view of the very relevant topic of immigration by putting a human face on the issue. We see things from the perspective of a young factory manager who travels from China to America, at the request of her married lover, in order to gain the benefit of American citizenship for their expected baby. He books her into a place, called Perfume Bay, in Southern California where Chinese women are housed until they deliver. When a routine sonogram reveals that Scarlett’s baby is not the anticipated boy, her path turns in unexpected directions. She and, another even younger unwed mother, Daisy accidentally team up to make their way together.

The story is filled with details about the women’s homeland and motivations for coming to America, the issue of documentation and citizenship, their struggle to survive despite squalid conditions as well as relationships from their past and those they form once they arrive. Even beyond that, it’s the story of two interesting and strong young women who bond and support each other through their new roles as mothers and survival on their own. Through these vivid details, we become immersed in the sights, sounds, and smells of their journey - one which is told with compassion and grace.

Not only did I find River of Stars enlightening, I was also caught up in Scarlett and Daisy’s day to day struggle for existence. Overall, a very engaging read.

I wanted to like this book but in the end was disappointed. I was really interested in the story, which begins with a young woman traveling from China to the United States to have a baby.

Scarlett is going to a home in the U.S. for pregnant Chinese women, so they can give birth in the U.S. and give their babies U.S. citizenship. It’s an idea I’m uncomfortable with, a way to detour around the immigration system – but I’m also fascinated by the idea of how much people from other countries want to live in the U.S.

I found Scarlett unlikable in the beginning of the book. She hates the home for pregnant women, and hates all the restrictions and pressure that come with being pregnant. The baby’s father is married and her boss at the factory where she worked. Now she’s in America having the boy he’s always wanted. I could sympathize with her frustration and her fears, but also felt she was complaining a lot about a situation she seems to have just gone along with.

The book takes an interesting turn when Boss Leung tries to pay her to give him custody of the child. In panic and anger, Scarlett takes the house van and makes a run for it. She lacks U.S. papers and she knows Leung will hunt her down for the child. She’s about 8 months pregnant — but she runs anyway.

This was a book where the plot and setting were interesting — I enjoyed reading about San Francisco and China. I also appreciated this look at the U.S. from the perspective of an outsider – and at the same time a look at Chinese culture around friendship, parenthood, love, and independence.

And yet I never warmed to this book. It had so much promise, but I felt the author always kept the characters at a distance. Scarlett becomes a survivor, but she’s not the nicest person, one who will turn on others when she needs to. Often when it seemed Scarlett was going to really grow – for example, in her friendship with another young mother, Daisy – it seemed she pulled back and did something really selfish. In fact, I found the character of Leung more interesting.

The character of Mama Fang was kind of strange. Late in the book Hua tells her backstory, and we see how she connects and what her motivations are – but it’s not quite clear why that story is there.

What I liked most about this book was going back and forth between Leung and Scarlett. I wanted more from the friendships Scarlett develops, and that’s what left me disappointed. I also didn’t care for the ending, which felt tacked on.

Hua is a journalist, and this is her first novel.

Note: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and publisher Ballantine Books. The book publishes August 15.

A River of Stars is not what I expected from the initial description. It’s a novel of immigration but more specifically about what it means to be a family, or at least a mother. The characters are all flawed in some way, but in seeking to create a life for herself and her child, Scarlett also finds a way into understanding her own mother and her broader family both temporary and permanent. Though I sometimes found the prose a bit stilted, I could empathize with the heroine and her struggles, as well as the other characters who start of one-dimensional but in many cases become more fluid and interesting as the book progresses. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this view into a different world!

BROOKE’S REVIEW

Hua’s debut novel A River of Stars is one of my favorite reads this year. Hua creates an engaging cast of primary and secondary characters in this novel, and she deftly navigates contemporary topics like immigration and social justice issues. While this book does not shy away from weighty topics, there’s also a sense of humor in Hua’s style.

Characters Scarlett and Daisy make unlikely friends, but they come to rely on each other in their new home in America. They must become as close as family to survive in a country that is far from home, yet full of opportunity for both their children and themselves.

This book will certainly delight fans of authors like Celeste Ng and would be a strong book club selection.

PRAISE

“A River of Stars splits the ‘Chinese immigrant story’ into a kaleidoscopic spectrum, putting human faces to the many groups—rich and poor, privileged and marginalized, documented and not—who come to America. Vanessa Hua’s debut is an utterly absorbing novel about the ruthless love of parenthood and the universal truth that sometimes family runs deeper than blood alone.”—Celeste Ng, New York Times bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere and Everything I Never Told You

“Vanessa Hua’s epic A River of Stars follows a pair of pregnant Chinese immigrant women—two of the more vibrant characters I’ve come across in a while—on the lam from Los Angeles to San Francisco’s Chinatown.”—R. O. Kwon, author of The Incendiaries, in Esquire

AUTHOR

Vanessa Hua is a weekly columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and author of the short story collection Deceit and Other Possibilities. For nearly two decades, she has been writing about Asia and the diaspora in journalism and in fiction. She received a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award, the Asian/Pacific Award for Literature, the San Francisco Foundation’s James D. Phelan Award, a Steinbeck Fellowship in Creative Writing, as well as honors from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Asian American Journalists’ Association. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, FRONTLINE/World, The Washington Post, ZYZZYVA, and elsewhere. She lives in northern California, where she is writing her next novel for Ballantine Books.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

This summer, Crazy Rich Asians has taken the silver screen by storm as To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before has made similar waves on the small screen. From the opulence of Singapore to the awkward fishbowl experiences of high school, American audiences have gotten the chance to engage with sympathetic Asian-American leads. It’s refreshing to see the stories of Chinese American and mixed-race Korean American women told to broad audiences at a time where Hollywood insists on whitewashing characters intended as Asian roles. And at a time where immigration is more hotly contested than ever, it’s exciting to see a novel that engages with the hardships that immigrants face while maintaining a satirical wit, situational humor, and straightforward laugh lines.

On its face, A River of Stars is a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps story of single mother Scarlett Chen. In China, she escaped her rural upbringing and became a supervisor at a factory, where she fell into a passionate love affair with the older, married Boss Yeung. (Throughout the novel, she always refers to him as such, despite conceiving a child with him. First and foremost, that is his defining trait as a character, a class above Scarlett, driven home by the fact the he and his “legitimate” daughter also think of him as “Boss Yeung.”) Hua thoughtfully examines survival, China’s one-child policy, and the American dream through flashbacks told throughout the story. The more Scarlett forges a life for herself and he child on American soil, the more she can relate to her own single mother whom she had a difficult relationship with. But the darkness of Scarlett’s past is contrasted with the potential brightness of her and her child’s future in the United States.

The story actually begins with the 8-months-pregnant Scarlett at Perfume Bay, a “spa” of questionable repute for pregnant Chinese women based in Los Angeles. Right off the bat, the absurdity of Scarlett’s situation will have readers guiltily stifling their laughter. Most pregnant women are given preferential treatment in public spaces, but when they’re surrounded by other pregnant women, who is entitled to extra pampering? The fact that Scarlett is a working class mistress treated with equal respect by the owner of Perfume Bay makes Scarlett’s wealthy peers rife with jealousy. But when Scarlett receives shocking news from one of her sonograms, she knows Boss Yeung will not only pull the plug on her stay in Perfume Bay, but will make her return to China a living hell. Being locked up in a house full of hormonal mothers-to-be is a powder keg ready to explode, so it only makes sense that the inciting match is a woman going into early labor.

From there, the novel fast forwards into a getaway chase. During the confusion, Scarlett steals a van, gives misdirections to strangers to throw the Perfume Bay boss and Boss Yeung off her trail, and discovers teenage stowaway and fellow Perfume Bay resident, Daisy. Daisy has all but been disinherited by her Taiwanese parents for getting pregnant with a boy she has only met twice, so the thirty-something Scarlett finds herself on a Thelma and Louise-like rescue mission. The two make an effort to dissolve into the San Francisco Chinatown landscape, which is difficult to do as heavily pregnant women with matching jumpsuits. But the community quickly bands together to help Scarlett and Daisy find an apartment, safely deliver their babies at a hospital to guarantee their children’s American citizenship, and supply them with endless groceries and diapers. Now Scarlett and Daisy struggle to keep up with the monumental and ludicrous physical demands of new motherhood while the need to financially support themselves becomes ever-pressing.

Hua elegantly ties together threads about the difficulties of immigration, the fierce power of motherhood, the determination of an entrepreneur, and the undying bond of friendship to create a poignant novel that also reads as a fun romp. Readers see the lows of dirty diapers and swindling immigration lawyers, but they also see the high of a successful food cart venture and babies discovering the world for the first time. Like this summer’s rom-coms, audiences will root for the protagonist to come out on top of their obstacles and get their happy ending. The ending thrums with hope and makes readers believe in a better tomorrow.

An immigrant story with an unusual start. We follow the journey of a Chinese mistress sent to the US to give birth to her wealthy lover's baby in order to earn United States citizenship for his heir. The author did a nice job of rounding out her characters. Even the "bad guys" are provided with depth and we are allowed to see the rationale for their actions. I recommend this to readers who enjoy stories of motherhood, persistence, love, and friendship.

I remember reading some articles a few years back about birthing tourism/maternity hotels for Chinese women in San Gabriel. Though the government has really tried to crackdown on it in recent years, it's still very much a thing. Vanessa Hua's debut novel, A River of Stars focuses on two very different women who are sent to one of those maternity resorts against their will and their fight to reclaim their lives.

I had previously read Hua's book of short stories Deceit and Other Possibilities and absolutely loved it. This was one of the books I was anticipating for this year and I enjoyed it. But when I finished reading it, my gut told me it was a 4 star book and not a 5 star book and it took a lot to figure out why. My husband informed me that my initial reasons were all crap so I actually had to think about it more deeply.

But I still stand by my initial reasons which were that I thought the ending was rushed and that the ending was too nicely wrapped up. Diving into it a little deeper: <spoiler>I also thought that every single obstacle faced by the characters were overcome pretty easily. The stakes never felt very high because things kept getting resolved so quickly/easily. Even the mildly pointless Bodies Exhibit plotline ended in their favor. In fact, knowing Boss Yeung's feelings and true intentions actually took all the stakes of Scarlett being found away. I was cheering for her the entire time, but I in no way felt that fear or desperation I think I should have - and the ending justified my opinions. As for the ending, I was kind of reminded me of the ending of August Rush. There's the grand scene with a lot of people around the lovers being reunited and then the epilogue which REALLY fairy taled the whole thing. Not that I don't like grand finales and happily ever afters, but there needs to be a build up to it. When the lows don't necessarily feel that low, and the women are able to overcome every little thing that comes their way, the grand finale inches a bit toward unbelievable/unrealistic - especially for a book that tries very hard to be rooted in real life. </spoiler>

All that aside, there's a lot to enjoy in the book. Every character is very easy to understand and they have compelling stories. I'd totally read an entire book on Mama Fang's character, and would have liked more of her in this book. But this story is Scarlett's story and kind of Boss Yeung's story. And their stories and their actions definitely keep you reading the book. Is it the author's fault that the background/secondary characters are captivating and well developed enough that readers would want more of their stories? Well, I guess kind of, the book could become an unwieldy behemoth delving into the backgrounds and current lives of all the characters and then I'd complain that it's too bloated. Or it could have been amazing, but we'll never know.

It's a book about strong women and also a look at the men who think they are behind the strong women...but also having the readers realize that the men actually over inflate their own importance. A lot like real life. Scarlett really embodies the first generation immigrant who works her ass off for her child's future. This is juxtaposed nicely with Daisy, the spoiled ABC who is Scarlett's partner in crime, who doesn't take to this path they're trying to forge very well. It's a look at parent's and the hopes/dreams/sacrifices they make for their children. This book feels very Chinese culturally and handles the weight of representing it with the same love and care that Vanessa Hua demonstrated in her book of short stories.

This was a slow but rich story that tells of Scarlett, a new mother who desperately wants to gain citizenship in America after arriving pregnant from China. Scarlett fights everyday to do what she can to make a better life for herself and her child. I was along for the journey with Scarlett and was rooting for her throughout the book.

A River of Stars is beautifully written and touches on important themes of immigration, gender, motherhood, and how far you will go for family; you could really spend a lot of time analyzing different aspects of this book, yet it was also very readable. In addition, I liked the inside view of San Francisco’s Chinatown and the cast of characters who live there - the author offers a lot of interesting information on Chinese culture. Recommended.

I was hoping to include this in my August audio roundup for the San Francisco Chronicle, but John McMurtrie tells me it will be separately covered.

This was an compelling read. I was hooked into the book and found myself thinking about the characters when I wasn't reading. I wanted to know how these people were going to resolve their situation, particularly Scarlett Chen. There were a few surprises along the way, which made the book not succumb to predictability.

The main character is Scarlett Chen, who became pregnant by her lover Boss Yeung. He then sent her away to Perfume Bay, a maternity spa, to have a U.S. born baby. As her due date approaches Boss Yeung becomes more demanding of her, despite still being in China, but enlists the aide of Mama Fang. Scarlett does not take kindly to this, in fact doesn't like Mama Fang, the owner of Perfume Bay too much either, controlling all the women, in all aspects. Scarlett is one of her own mind, strong and independent, and feels like she's trapped in this place. When opportunity strikes she leaves, runs away to escape Boss Yeung, whom she believes wants to take her baby away from her once it's born.

In leaving she makes off with Perfume Bay's van, and discovers the other misfit at the maternity center, teenager Daisy who had already tried to leave before. The two become dependent on each other as they escape and find a new place to start figuring out what to do next. They end up in San Francisco with a tiny studio. Too soon their babies are born, motherhood takes over, and then try to figure out how to keep paying rent and money for food and necessities. All while trying to stay incognito so Boss Yeung doesn't find her.

A few notes on the writing style: The novel was peppered with Cantonese alongside the English translation so it is easily understood and gave the work more authenticity as an immigrant story.

The author, Vanessa Hua, weaved in memories for Scarlett in a way that made the reading go smoothly, and not disjointed. Some authors don't get this right, but Hua did.

I was a little disappointed in the ending, but many may find it perfect.

A RIVER OF STARS by Vanessa Hua is a well-written debut novel which tells the story of Scarlett Chen, a young and pregnant Chinese woman whose married employer/lover (Boss Yeung) has sent her to Mama Fang's Perfume Bay near Los Angeles, California so that their child will be born there and have American citizenship. She and a young teenage mother-to-be, Daisy, make a surprising escape one night and despite some very real dangers end up in San Francisco's Chinatown. There, they rely on neighbors’ goodwill, street smarts, and hard work to survive. Readers will be amazed at Scarlett's resilience and (sometimes underhanded) resourcefulness, not unlike the similarly named character in Gone with The Wind. I initially requested A RIVER OF STARS because of its focus on the 21st century version of the American Dream, but parenthood, especially the relationship between mothers and daughters, is also very key and could potentially work as a basis for Junior Theme. Literature circles could definitely consider pairing Hua's novel with other previously reviewed fictional works on immigration, such as Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran or perhaps Go, Went, Gone (to be read by our Global Voices class this year) or A Radius of Us or Behold the Dreamers. A RIVER OF STARS garnered praise from authors Celeste Ng ("utterly absorbing") and Lisa Ko ("a riveting story"); plus, it was a LibraryReads selection for August 2018 and the BBC and the Economist featured positive reviews.

Links in live post:
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20180719-the-10-smartest-beach-reads-of-2018
https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2018/08/18/a-delightful-novel-of-motherhood-and-chinese-immigration

Thanks to Ballantine books for a free e-ARC of this novel. Hua’s debut novel follows a young Chinese woman, Scarlett as she arrives America to birth the child she conceived with her wealthy, married lover. When she gets unexpected news about her child, she flees the fancy maternity “hotel” she’s at, with a pregnant teenager in tow.

This book is very unique — the plot and the masterful way the author ties many characters together creates enough drama to keep you flipping pages. A River Of Stars examines immigration, family and love in a way that I personally haven’t read yet.

If you’re on the look out for a book with lots of Asian food, interesting characters and wildly entertaining sequences, you’re likely to enjoy this novel!

A River of Stars focuses on Scarlett Chen, a factory worker who has an affair with the married owner, Boss Heung. Scarlett is pregnant, and doctors tell her that she and Boss Heung will be having a boy, which is everything to Boss. He has three daughters and has always desired a son. Boss Heung becomes obsessed with the baby’s care in utero and wants him to have the best of the best. In securing that, he sends Scarlett to the U.S. to live in a secret home with other pregnant Chinese women, most of them immigrants. The plan is for Scarlett to give birth in America, which will hopefully provide a lifetime of opportunities for the baby.

While living in the home, Scarlett is forced to get along with difficult housemates and take part in cultural rituals of bitter and unusual stews and other medicinal aids for pregnant women. She finds a friend in Daisy, a pregnant teen with citizenship who has been placed in the home to keep her away from her American boyfriend.

At a late doctor’s appointment, Scarlett is told she is having a girl instead…and she panics. She is already living on edge with Boss. How will she ever be able to tell him the truth, and what will it mean for her future, as well as the baby’s? So, she flees in an attempt to find the American dream on her terms. Surprise: Boss is in the U.S. and hot on her heels.

A River of Stars is a well-written, entertaining romp of a story. It highlights the Chinese immigrant experience in the United States, whether rich or poor, naturalized citizen, or recent immigrant. At the same time, it is an adventure as Scarlett and Daisy set out to satisfy their dreams. Moreover, it is a story of a woman taking charge of her life when cultural values would typically hinder her, finding a sense of home/a sense of place, and examining motherhood, mother-daughter relationships, and identity. It is an enchanting stand-out of a book.

Thank you to Random House/Ballantine Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

3 stars!

A River of Stars by Vanessa Hua is the story of Scarlett and Daisy, pregnant women living in America to give their babies a better chance and American citizenship, Though sent to a secret maternity home under different circumstances, their lives soon become entangled as their navigate childbirth, raising children, and trying to make it America. Scarlett is trying to flee the father of the child, Daisy is try to find the father of her child.

This story had an interest concept for the beginning half of the book I was engaged in the story, However, towards the end of the book the story takes an unexpected turn. I wasn't on board with the route the author took this story and unfortunately that colors my review of this book. It might have been intended to be funny but I just found it strange and inappropriate. Otherwise, interesting and well written debut.

I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A moving novel that focuses on Scarlet, as she’s pregnant and trying to find her way and stake a claim to the American Dream for herself and her unborn child. Vanessa Hua’s was enthralling, and moving. It’s a story that timely and filled with vivacious characters while on their journey trying to create a new home. Highly recommend for those readers who love stories about immigration, identity and character driven stories.

Five stars for Scarlett. And for Daisy. And for the rest of the wonderful cast of characters in this enlightening and delightful novel. Scarlett wants nothing more than a good future for herself and her daughter Liberty by her boss- Boss Leung, who will come to find he wants them both for more than just having the son he thought Liberty would be. Never count her out- she pulls herself out of her village and now she's in California, luckily aided by Daisy, a pregnant teen who later becomes mother to a son. These two find a community in the small close knit grooves of Chinatown. And while they struggle, neither gives up hope. This is a beautifully written and thoughtful portrait of a woman. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Two thumbs up!